The Adenoviral Vector - The Biological Delivery System

Protecting against diseases in the future – the benefits of a platform technology

Imugene’s platform technology is currently addressing some of the major diseases and health issues threatening pig and poultry production worldwide.

For each Imugene product the Adenoviral Delivery Vectors are used to deliver a different ‘payload’. The result is a range of vaccines that protect pigs or poultry against specific infectious diseases or improve weight gain.

For Imugene’s productivity enhancers, the vector is used to deliver a “payload” of a gene that produces an immune protein. These proteins occur naturally in pigs and poultry, but when a payload is attached to the vector, levels of the proteins are boosted, resulting in a stronger immune system. The result is that pigs and poultry do not suffer growth losses that would occur as a result of disease.

Competitive Advantages

  • Cost effective to administer via water, feed, aerosol, egg, or injection
  • Cost effective to manufacture in very large quantities (especially without contaminants)
  • Delivers only key genetic information (not whole infectious organism) and can deliver multiple genes
  • Does not cause disease
  • Adenoviruses are ubiquitous in natural pig and poultry populations
  • Does not create meat residues and is therefore safe for human consumption
  • Does not genetically modify the host animal
  • The platform technology is well advanced, especially in human medicine.
For vaccine products, the vector is used to deliver a payload of an economically important virus or bacterial gene. The proteins produced are the same as those found in the pathogenic virus or bacteria. The advantage is that the host is not exposed to the pathogenic virus or bacteria at all, and their immune system is subsequently better able to fight off disease.

To date, the Adenoviral Delivery Vector has been used successfully to deliver more than four different vaccine materials and several cytokines for productivity enhancement. This proven ability to deliver a range of desirable material emphasises the broad utility of the vector.

The Adenoviral Delivery System